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Lin Carter
}} | birth_place = St. Petersburg, Florida, USA| death_date = | death_place = Montclair, New Jersey, USA| occupation = Writer, editor, critic| nationality = American| period = 1965–1988| genre = Fantasy, science fiction| subject = High fantasy (as critic)| movement = | notableworks= Imaginary Worlds| debut_works = The Wizard of Lemuria | influences = Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Isaac Asimov, L. Sprague de Camp, H. P. Lovecraft, James Branch Cabell, L. Frank Baum and many others| influenced = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was a prolific American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. Lovecraft parody) and Grail Undwin. He is best known for editing the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in the 1970s, which introduced readers to many overlooked classics of the fantasy genre. Life Lin Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. He was an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy in his youth and became broadly knowledgeable in the field. He was also quite active in fandom. Carter served in the United States Army (Infantry, Korea, 1951–53), after which he attended Columbia University (1953–54), during which time he attended Leonie Adams's Poetry Workshop.Contributor note on Lin Carter in August Derleth, ed. Fire, Sleet and Candlelight: New Poems of the Macabre. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1961, p. 228 He was a copywriter for some years before writing full-time. He married twice, first to Judith Ellen Hershkovitz (married 1959, divorced 1960) and later to Noel Vreeland (married 1963, while they both worked for Prentice-Hall publishers; divorced 1975). He was an advertising and publishers copywriter (1957–69). From 1969 he was a freelance writer and editorial consultant. During much of his writing career he lived in Hollis, New York. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers the Black Widowers. Carter himself was the model for the Mario Gonzalo character. He was also a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), a loose-knit group of Heroic fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose work he anthologized in the ''Flashing Swords! series. In the 1970s Carter issued his own fantasy fanzine, titled Kadath, after H. P. Lovecraft's fictional setting (see The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath). The number of issues put out is uncertain; however, the 1974 issues contained Carter's Cthulhu Mythos story "The City of Pillars" (pp. 22–25). In 1985, his quality of life was severely reduced when he developed oral cancer and had to endure extensive surgery to have it removed. Only his status as a Korea veteran enabled him to receive treatment, which failed to cure his illness and left him disfigured. In the last year before his death, he had begun to reappear in print with a new book in his Terra Magica series, a long-promised Prince Zarkon pulp hero pastiche, Horror Wears Blue, and a regular column for Crypt of Cthulhu magazine. Despite these successes, Carter had increased his alcohol intake, becoming a borderline alcoholic and further weakening his body, already ravaged by his cancer and therapy. The disease subsequently resurfaced, spreading to his throat and leading to his death in 1988. He resided in East Orange, New Jersey in his final years, and died in nearby Montclair, New Jersey. The editor of Crypt of Cthulhu, Robert M. Price, had published a Lin Carter special issue - Vol 5, No 2 (whole number 36; Yuletide 1985). Price, who was appointed Carter's literary executor, was preparing a second all-Carter issue when Carter died; it was turned into a memorial issue - Vol 7, No 4 (whole number 54 Eastertide 1988). Two further issues of the magazine were devoted to Carter alone, totalling four special Carter issues (see References below). Writing career A longtime science-fiction and fantasy fan, Carter first appeared in print with entertaining letters to Startling Stories and other pulp magazines in the late 1940s—one in 1943. He issued two volumes of fantasy verse, Sandalwood and Jade (1951), technically his first book, and Galleon of Dream (1955). His first professional publication was the short story "Masters of the Metropolis" by Carter and Randall Garrett, published by Anthony Boucher in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1957. Another early collaborative story, "The Slitherer from the Slime" (Inside SF, September 1958), by Carter as 'H. P. Lowcraft' and Dave Foley, is a sort of parody of H. P. Lovecraft. The story "Uncollected Works" (Fantasy and SF, March 1965) was a finalist for the annual Nebula Award for Best Short Story, from the SF and fantasy writers, the only time Carter was a runner-up for a major award. Early in his efforts to establish himself as a writer, Carter gained a mentor in L. Sprague de Camp, who critiqued his novel The Wizard of Lemuria in manuscript. (The seventh novel Carter wrote, it was the first to find a publisher, appearing from Ace Books in March 1965.)Lin Carter, "A Word from the Author", Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria (revised version of The Wizard of Lemuria), NY: Berkley Medallion Books, 1969, p. (6). Due in large part to their later collaborations, mutual promotion of each other in print, joint membership in both the Trap Door Spiders and SAGA, and complementary scholarly efforts to document the history of fantasy, de Camp is the person with whom Carter is most closely associated as a writer. A falling-out in the last decade of Carter's life did not become generally known until after his death. Carter was a prolific penman. He claimed that after something like twenty-five books appeared bearing his name, after The Wizard of Lemuria was published in March 1965 before it was revised and reissued in 1969 as Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria; that means he averaged about six books published per year during that four-year period.Lin Carter, A Word from the Author, in Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria (revised version of The Wizard of Lemuria), NY: Berkley Medallion Books, 1969, p.(5). From 1966 to 1968 he also wrote two dozen times as "Our Man in Fandom", a nearly-monthly column in If, edited by Frederik Pohl. Unknown to many of his fans is the fact that Carter was a major scripter for ABC's original Spider-Man animated TV show during its moody, fantasy-oriented second season in 1968-69. Carter had a marked tendency toward self-promotion in his work, frequently citing his own writings in his nonfiction to illustrate points and almost always including at least one of his own pieces in the anthologies he edited. The most extreme instance is his novel Lankar of Callisto, which features Carter himself as the protagonist. Carter was not reluctant to attack organized religion in his books, notably in his World's End epic, in "Amalric the Man-God" (both promising but never finished), and in The Wizard of Zao, portraying religions as cruel & repressive, and the hero has to escape from the inquisitions of said religions. As a fiction writer most of Carter's work was derivative in the sense that it was consciously imitative of the themes, subjects and styles of other authors he admired. He was quite explicit in regard to his models, usually identifying them in the introductions or afterwords of his novels, and introductory notes to self-anthologized or collected short stories. His best-known works are his sword and planet and sword and sorcery novels in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, and James Branch Cabell. His first published book, The Wizard of Lemuria (1965), first of the "Thongor the Barbarian" series, combines both influences. Although he wrote only six Thongor novels, the character appeared in Marvel Comics's Creatures on the Loose for an eight-issue run in 1973-74 and was often optioned for films, although none were produced. His other major series, the "Callisto" and "Zanthodon" books, are direct tributes to Burroughs' Barsoom series and Pellucidar novels, respectively. Other works pay homage to the styles of contemporary pulp magazine authors or their precursors. Some of these, together with Carter's models, include his "Simrana" stories (influenced by Lord Dunsany), his horror stories (set in the "Cthulhu Mythos" of H. P. Lovecraft), his "Green Star" novels (uniting influences from Clark Ashton Smith and Edgar Rice Burroughs), his "Mysteries of Mars" series (patterned on the works of Leigh Brackett), and his "Prince Zarkon" books (based on the "Doc Savage" series of Kenneth Robeson). Later in his career Carter assimilated influences from mythology and fairy tales, and even branched out briefly into pornographic fantasy. Posthumous collaborations with Howard and Smith Some of Carter's most prominent works were what he referred to as "posthumous collaborations" with deceased authors, notably Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. He completed a number of Howard's unfinished tales of Kull (see Kull (collection) "Lin Carter on Kull". Savage Sword of Conan No 3 (Dec 1974). Online at: http://www.gwthomas.org/lincarteronkull.htm and Conan the Barbarian, the latter often in collaboration with L. Sprague de Camp. He also collaborated with de Camp on a number of pastiche novels and short stories featuring Conan. The posthumous 'collaborations' with Smith were of a different order, usually completely new stories built around title ideas or short fragments found among Smith's notes and jottings. A number of these tales feature Smith's invented book of forbidden lore, the Book of Eibon (Cthulhu Mythos arcane literature). Some of them also overlap as pastiches of H.P. Lovecraft's work by utilising elements of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. These stories, which are uncollected, include:*"The Descent into the Abyss" in Carter's anthology Weird Tales #2. Also in Robert M. Price (ed). The Book of Eibon (Chaosium, 2002). The story is a sort of rewrite of Smith's "The Seven Geases".*"The Feaster from the Stars". In Crypt of Cthulhu No 26 (Hallowmas 1984). Also in Robert M. Price (ed) The Book of Eibon (Chaosium, 2002). Based on a plot idea by Smith found by Carter in Smith's holograph notes (one not printed in Smith's The Black Book of Clark Ashton Smith).*"The Light from the Pole" in Carter (ed) Weird Tales #1. Also in Robert M. Price (ed) The Book of Eibon (Chaosium, 2002). Based on Smith's Commoriom myth-cycle, utilising an early draft of Smith's "The Coming of the White Worm".*"The Secret in the Parchment". In Crypt of Cthulhu No 54 (Eastertide 1988). Also in Robert M. Price (ed) The Book of Eibon (Chaosium, 2002). Mingles material derived from Arthur Machen with Smith's Eibonic cyle.*"The Scroll of Morloc". Fantastic (Oct 1975). Also in Carter's anthologies Year's Best Fantasy Stories No 2 (DAW 1976), pp. 143–157 ; and Lost Worlds, pp. 11–17. Also in Robert M. Price (ed) The Book of Eibon (Chaosium, 2002).*"The Stairs in the Crypt". Fantastic 25, No 4 (Aug 1976), pp. 82–89. Also in Carter's anthologies Year's Best Fantasy Stories No 3 (DAW, 1977), pp. 129–40; and Lost Worlds, pp. 18–26and in Robert M. Price (ed) The Book of Eibon (Chaosium, 2002).The title comes from one of the stories said to have been written by Robert Blake in Lovecraft's The Haunter of the Dark. Carter also pays tribute to such Cthulhu Mythos stories as Henry Kuttner's "The Salem Horror" and E. Hoffmann Price's collaboration with Lovecraft, "Through the Gates of the Silver Key".*"The Utmost Abomination" Weird Tales Autumn or Fall 1973; also in Mike Ashley (ed), Weird Legacies, pp. 81–91 and in Robert M. Price (ed) The Book of Eibon (Chaosium, 2002).*"The Vengeance of Yig" in Carter's anthology Weird Tales #4, pp. 275ff.*"The Winfield Inheritance" in Carter's anthology Weird Tales No 3, pp. 275–311.*"Zoth-Ommog" in Edward Berglund (ed) The Disciples of Cthulhu Cthulhu Mythos anthology, pp. 141–193. Note: a sequel to this tale has been written by Leigh Blackmore (see Xothic legend cycle). For further info see Steve Behrends, "The Carter-Smith Collaborations" in Robert M. Price (ed). The Horror of it All: Encrusted Gems from the Crypt of Cthulhu. See also Lin Carter deities. Pastiches of H. P. Lovecraft Carter wrote numerous stories in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. Many have been collected in Robert M. Price (ed) The Xothic Legend Cycle: The Complete Mythos Fiction of Lin Carter. Despite the title, there are many uncollected Mythos stories by Carter. These include:*"Acolyte of the Flame". In Crypt of Cthulhu No 36 (Yuletide, 1985). Reprint in Robert M. Price (ed) The Book of Eibon (Chaosium, 2002). Price notes that both the Crypt and Chaosium versions are the "later" version of the story, and that an earlier version exists.*" The Burrowers Beneath". In Cthulhu Cultus No 6 (1997) Title taken from one of the stories said to have been written by Robert Blake in Lovecraft's The Haunter of the Dark. Not to be confused with Brian Lumley's novel The Burrowers Beneath (see Chthonian (Cthulhu Mythos)) nor with the Robert Price story in Price's anthology The Book of Eibon (Chaosium, 2002).*"The City of Pillars". First published in Carter's own magazine Kadath (1974). To be reprinted in Crypt of Cthulhu. (Purportedly a translation from The Necronomicon.)*"The Descent into the Abyss". In Carter's anthology Weird Tales #2. Also in Robert M. Price (ed) The Book of Eibon (Chaosium, 2002).*"The Doom of Yakthoob". In The Arkham Collector No 10 (Summer 1971).(Purportedly a translation from The Necronomicon.) *"The Double Tower" in Year's Best Fantasy Stories #1 (DAW Books, 1975). Also in Robert M. Price (ed) The Book of Eibon (Chaosium, 2002).*"Dreams in the House of Weir". In Carter (ed), Weird Tales" #4. *"In the Vale of Pnath" in Gerald Page (ed) ''Nameless Places. (This story takes its title from Lovecraft, and some of its content from Lovecraft's Dreamlands series, while also featuring CA Smith's Book of Eibon. *"The Offering" in Crypt of Cthulhu 1, No 7 (Lammas 1982). Based primarily on Out of the Aeons and "Bothon" ( a story collaboration between H.P. Lovecraft and Henry S. Whitehead). *"Shaggai". In August Derleth (ed) Dark Things. The title is taken from one of the stories said to have been written by Robert Blake in Lovecraft's The Haunter of the Dark.Purportedly a chapter from the Book of Eibon. *"Something in the Moonlight" in Carter (ed) Weird Tales #1. *"The Stone from Mnar: A Fragment from the Necronomicon".Appeared in "Crypt of Cthulhu" #36 and reprinted as purportedly, part of the first 5 sections of the Necronomicon, in Crypt of Cthulhu #70 *"The Thing Under Memphis". In Crypt of Cthulhu 3, No - (WN 22)(Roodmas 1984), 3-5. *"Them From Outside". In "Crypt of Cthulhu" #23 as "Concerning Them from Outside" and reprinted in Crypt of Cthulhu #70 as purportedly, part of the first 5 sections of the Necronomicon. *"The Thing in the Pit". In Carter's Lost Worlds. (Purportedly a translation from the Zanthu Tablets).See also Xothic legend cycle. For further info see Robert M. Price "The Statement of Lin Carter", Crypt of Cthulhu 1, No 2 (Yuletide 1981), 11-19. ---- Pastiches of Lord Dunsany Carter's Simrana stories pay tribute to the fantasy of Lord Dunsany. Examples include: * "The Gods of Neol-Shendis" in Amra, v. 2, no. 41, July 1966 (revised as "The Gods of Niom Parma" (Warlocks and Warriors (1970)). * "The Whelming of Oom" in The Young Magicians (1969). * "Zingazar" in New Worlds for Old (1971). * "How Sargoth Lay Siege to Zaremm" in Swordsmen and Supermen (1972). * "The Laughter of Han" in Fantasy Tales, v. 5, no. 9, Spring 1982. * "The Benevolence of Yib" in Crypt of Cthulhu, no. 51, Hallowmas 1987. * "The Thievery of Yish" in Fantasy Tales, v. 10, no. 1, Autumn 1988. ---- Unfinished projects Carter is known to have left a number of projects unfinished. A number of his stand-alone books contained obvious hooks for sequels that were never written. He regularly announced plans for future works that never came to fruition, even including some among lists of books he had written in the fronts of other books. His 1976 anthologies Kingdoms of Sorcery and Realms of Wizardry both included such phantom books among his other listed works, titled Robert E. Howard and the Rise of Sword & Sorcery, The Stones of Mnar and Jungle Maid of Callisto. The first of these, presumably a non-fiction study along the lines of his Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings" (1969), never saw print; the second seems to be related to The Terror Out of Time, a collection of Cthulhu Mythos tales he had pitched unsuccessfully to Arkham House (the existing material for which was eventually gathered into his The Xothic Legend Cycle (1997)); the third was apparently a working title for Ylana of Callisto (1977), published the year after the anthologies.Rutledge, Charles R. "Lost Kingdoms," April 11, 2008. Several of his series were abandoned due to lack of publisher or reader interest or to his deteriorating health. Among these are his "Thongor" series, to which he intended to add two books dealing with the hero's youth; only a scattering of short stories intended for the volumes appeared. His "Gondwane" epic, which he began with the final book and afterwards added several more covering the beginning of the saga, lacks its middle volumes, his publisher having canceled the series before he managed to fill the gap between. Similarly, his projected Atlantis trilogy was canceled after the first book, and his five-volume "Chronicles of Kylix" ended with three volumes published and parts of another (Amalric). Another unfinished project was Carter's self-proclaimed magnum opus, an epic literary fantasy entitled Khymyrium, or, to give it its full title, Khymyrium: The City of the Hundred Kings, from the Coming of Aviathar the Lion to the Passing of Spheridion the Doomed. It was intended to take the genre in a new direction by resurrecting the fantastic medieval chronicle history of the sort exemplified by Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum. It was also to present a new invented system of magic called "enstarment", which from Carter's description somewhat resembles the system of magical luck investment later devised by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly for their "Liavek" series of shared world anthologies. Carter claimed to have begun the work about 1959, and published at least three excerpts from it as separate short stories during his lifetime – "Azlon" in The Young Magicians (1969), "The Mantichore" in Beyond the Gates of Dream (also 1969) and "The Sword of Power" in New Worlds for Old (1971). A fourth episode was published posthumously in Fungi #17, a 1998 fanzine. His most comprehensive account of the project appeared in Imaginary Worlds: the Art of Fantasy in 1973. While he continued to make claims for its excellence throughout his lifetime, the complete novel never appeared. Part of the problem was that Carter was forcing himself to write the novel in a formal style more like that of William Morris and quite unlike his own. Career as editor and critic While his fiction was often derivative, Carter was influential as a critic of contemporary fantasy and a pioneering historian of the genre. His book reviews and surveys of the year's best fantasy fiction appeared regularly in Castle of Frankenstein, continuing after that magazine's 1975 demise in The Year's Best Fantasy Stories. His early studies of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien (Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings") and H. P. Lovecraft (Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos) were followed up by the wide-ranging Imaginary Worlds: the Art of Fantasy, a study tracing the emergence and development of modern fantasy from the late nineteenth century novels of William Morris through the 1970s. Peter Beagle faulted Carter's scholarship, saying "He gets so many facts embarrassingly wrong, so many attributions misquoted, that the entire commentary is essentially worthless.""Introduction", The Secret History of Fantasy, Peter S. Beagle (ed), Tachyon Press 2010. His greatest influence in the field may have been as an editor for Ballantine Books from 1969–1974, when Carter brought several obscure yet important books of fantasy back into print under the "Adult Fantasy" line. Authors whose works he revived included Dunsany, Morris, Smith, James Branch Cabell, Hope Mirrlees, and Evangeline Walton. David G. Hartwell praised the series, saying it brought "into mass editions nearly all the adult fantasy stories and novels worth reading.""The Making of the American Fantasy Genre", in The Secret History of Fantasy, Peter S. Beagle (ed), Tachyon Press 2010. He also helped new authors break into the field, such as Katherine Kurtz, Joy Chant, and Sanders Anne Laubenthal. Carter was a fantasy anthologist of note, editing a number of new anthologies of classic and contemporary fantasy for Ballantine and other publishers. He also edited several anthology series, including the Flashing Swords! series from 1973 to 1981, the first six volumes of The Year's Best Fantasy Stories for DAW Books from 1975 to 1980, and an anthology format revival of the classic fantasy magazine Weird Tales from 1981 to 1983. Together with SAGA he sponsored the Gandalf Award, an early fantasy equivalent to science fiction's Hugo Award, for the recognition of outstanding merit in authors and works of fantasy. It was given annually by the World Science Fiction Society from 1974 to 1981, but went into abeyance with the collapse of Carter's health in the 1980s. Its primary purpose continues to be fulfilled by the initially rival World Fantasy Awards, first presented in 1975. Posthumous revival Wildside Press began an extensive program returning much of Carter's fiction to print in 1999. All remain in print, and one original book was issued in 2012, collecting the short stories about Thongor. To date, the following titles have been released: 1999 The Man Who Loved Mars (ISBN 1587150301) 1999 The Nemesis of Evil (ISBN 1587150573) 1999 Invisible Death (ISBN 1587150581) 1999 The Volcano Ogre (ISBN 158715059X) 1999 The City Outside the World (ISBN 1587150670) 1999 Beyond the Gates of Dream (ISBN 1587150786) 1999 The Quest of Kadji (ISBN 1587150867) 1999 Tower at the Edge of Time (ISBN 158715093X) 1999 The Black Star (ISBN 1587150956) 2000 The Warrior of World's End (ISBN 1587153394) 2000 The Enchantress of World's End (ISBN 1587153408) 2000 The Immortal of World's End (ISBN 1587153416) 2000 The Barbarian of World's End (ISBN 1587153424) 2000 The Pirate of World's End (ISBN 1587153432) 2001 Kesrick (ISBN 1587153130) 2001 Dragonrouge (ISBN 1587153149) 2001 Mandricardo (ISBN 1587153157) 2001 Callipygia (ISBN 1587153165) 2002 Under the Green Star (ISBN 1587156474) 2007 Mad Empress of Callisto (ISBN 1434494977) 2007 Kellory the Warlock (ISBN 978-1-4344-9278-4) 2008 The Valley Where Time Stood Still (ISBN 978-1-4344-6546-7) 2008 Discoveries in Fantasy (ISBN 978-1-4344-6549-8) 2008 Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy (Vol. II) (ISBN 978-1-4344-6636-5) 2008 As the Green Star Rises (ISBN 978-1-4344-6689-1) 2008 Lost Worlds (ISBN 978-1-4344-6784-3 trade paperback, ISBN 978-1-4344-6785-0 hardcover) 2008 By the Light of the Green Star (ISBN 978-1-4344-9795-6 paperback, ISBN 978-1-4344-9796-3 hardcover) 2008 Down to a Sunless Sea (ISBN 978-1-4344-9797-0) 2008 Found Wanting (ISBN 978-1-4344-9799-4 paperback, ISBN 978-1-4344-9800-7 hardcover) 2008 Lost World of Time (ISBN 978-1-4344-9801-4 paperback, ISBN 978-1-4344-9802-1 hardcover) 2008 Sky Pirates of Callisto (ISBN 978-1-4344-9803-8 paperback, ISBN 978-1-4344-9804-5 hardcover) 2008 Star Rogue (ISBN 978-1-4344-9805-2 paperback, ISBN 978-1-4344-9806-9 hardcover) 2008 Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings" (ISBN 978-1-4344-9807-6 paperback, ISBN 978-1-4344-9808-3 hardcover) 2008 When the Green Star Calls (ISBN 978-1-4344-9809-0 trade paperback, ISBN 978-1-4344-9810-6 hardcover) 2011 Tower of the Medusa (ISBN 978-1-4344-3064-9) 2012 Young Thongor, by Lin Carter, Robert M. Price, and Adrian Cole (ISBN 978-1-4344-4101-0) Bibliography Science fiction Hautley Quicksilver *''The Thief of Thoth'' (1968) *''The Purloined Planet'' (1969) The History of the Great Imperium *''Outworlder'' (1971) *''The Man Without a Planet'' (1966) *''Star Rogue'' (1970) Callisto #''Jandar of Callisto'' (1972)#''Black Legion of Callisto'' (1972) Callisto Volume 1 (2000 - omnibus including Jandar of Callisto and Black Legion of Callisto)#''Sky Pirates of Callisto'' (1973)#''Mad Empress of Callisto'' (1975)#''Mind Wizards of Callisto'' (1975)#''Lankar of Callisto'' (1975)#''Ylana of Callisto'' (1977)#''Renegade of Callisto'' (1978) The Green Star #''Under the Green Star'' (1972)#''When the Green Star Calls'' (1973)#''By the Light of the Green Star'' (DAW Books, 1974)#''As the Green Star Rises'' (1975)#''In the Green Star's Glow'' (1976) The Mysteries of Mars *''The Valley Where Time Stood Still'' (1974)*''The City Outside the World'' (1977)*''Down to a Sunless Sea'' (1984) *''The Man Who Loved Mars'' (1973) Zarkon-Lord of the Unknown #''The Nemesis of Evil'' (1975)#''Invisible Death'' (1975)#''The Volcano Ogre'' (1976)#''The Earth-Shaker'' (Doubleday, 1982)#''Horror Wears Blue'' (1987) Zanthodon It's a fun, pulpy bit of adventure and I recommend it if you've exhausted the Pellucidar series (Edger Rice Burroughs, starting in 1913 or so).Journey to the Underground World : The Adventures of Eric Carstairs in Zanthodon,begins the adventures of Eric Carstairs,under the trackless sands of the Sahara lies a vast subteranean realm of dinosaurs,mighty jungles and living bands of primative peoples from Neanderthals to Cro-Magnons-one a princess and even Barbary Pirate.A kind of Pellucidar type adventOfficial Edgar Rice Burroughs Tribute and Weekly Webzine Site Since 1996 ~ Over 10,000 Web Pages in Archive Volume 1717 The ERB / Lin Carter Connection "Zanthodon" Overview by Steve Servello CONTENTS 1. Journey to the Underground World 2. Zanthodon 3. Darya of the Stone Age 4. Hurok of the Stone Age 5. Eric of Zanthodon... Category:1930 births Category:1988 deaths Category:American fantasy writers Category:American science fiction writers Category:American book editors Category:Science fiction editors Category:Science fiction fans Category:20th-century American novelists Category:American short story writers Category:Cthulhu Mythos writers Journey to the Underground World I started "Journey to the Underground World" today and I'm in heaven! It's been about three years since my last read and I needed this. Being a fan of the Dray Prescot Saga by Ken Bulmer and the Josh Kirby illustrations, I was pleased to see his work in this book. More as I come to each one. Published by DAW in November of 1979, I see no dedication and it should have been Burroughs that got the nod, for this novel represents a distinct nod to Pellucidar. As to Eric Carstairs' age, the only (vague) reference so far is in the "Editor's Note." Carter writes: "I have known Carstairs off and on for several years. Although the rugged young adventurer is many years my junior, we seem to have hit it off from the start." Lin was born in June of 1930 and was about 49 years old when he wrote "Journey." So, "many years" could be anywhere from ten to thirty. Thus, Eric is somewhere between 19 and 39. I'd like to think 23, but he has seen so much action in the world prior to these adventures in Zanthodon that he probably is older. Like I said, vague. I enjoyed Carter's "Editor's Note" overall but this line especially: "...there are still lost lands in the remote corners of the earth where fantastic monsters roam, where chaste and beautiful women remain to be rescued from sneering villains, and where adventure and peril and heroism thrive amid exotic and bizarre scenery." What more could I ask for! One thing I was bothered by (big time!) is that Lin provided no map of the known areas of Zanthodon. Well, I made my own and though absolutely out of scale and juvenile in quality, I find it helpful in my reads of this series. I recalled that there was a map of Zanthodon in The Dictionary of Imaginary Places by Alberto Manguel & Gianni Guadalupi. On page 421 the map shows a vastly different conception. For one, it shows the entire land mass surrounded by the Sogar-Jad while I believe there was still unexplored land to the east and thus was left off my map. Plus, the Northern Isles and El Cazar. This may be due to only the first two or three books being referenced. Still, I will consult both maps during my read and see if I am in error. Perhaps I could put together a map that contains the best of both. Events begin in Port Said Egypt before moving to a desolate section of the Sahara Desert. Eric Carstairs saves Professor Percival Penthesileia Potter from thugs and they strike up a friendship and partnership for Potter knows the location of one of the entrances to Zanthodon. Only this one is ever disclosed but others (one at least) are referred to, later on in the series. There is much humor to be found and I for one appreciate it. On page 18, Potter and Carstairs spar on the professor's middle initial P. He alternates between being "suspiciously reticent," giving "frosty, reproving glares" and "clearing his throat and giving a sniff," I was amused. On page 14, when Eric proposes a drink after their initial meeting, Potter begs off but finally, for medicinal purposes only caves in with: "Straight gin," he snapped to the waiter. "Gordon's, if you stock it; Boodle's will do." Carstairs then opines that gin is gin and on that point I quite disagree. One last example of humor in "Journey" occurs on page 44 where Potter had just declared that triceratops were vegetarians and this one starts eating a pterodactyl Carstairs had just killed and then trees the duo, looking for another meal. "Mostly vegetarians, eh?" I (Eric) said sarcastically. Looking remarkably unhappy, the Professor made no comment." The incredible descent to the Underground World is described on pages 29-33 and while not as detailed or fraught as that of David Innes and Abner Perry, it still makes for brave reading as "Babe" the helicopter of Carstairs wends its way ever deeper into the Earth's crust. But unlike Pellucidar, Zanthodon is not at the Earth's core but in a huge cavern, about 100 miles down, beneath the Sahara. Potter estimates (page 40) the size to be "about five hundred miles by five hundred, almost perfectly circular. ...A quarter of a million square miles." Potter crashes "Babe" while Carstairs naps but the helicopter is not totally wrecked. I had hoped that Eric would one day return for "Babe," repair her and fly across Zanthodon. It could not however, ascend back through the volcanic tunnel to the 1000 foot mountain in the Sahara it originated in (pages 39 & 41). Useless to want as it never happens! It seems a blacksmith would be necessary to repair the broken rotor blade. But what about the Corsairs of El-Cazar? Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan & Pellucidar), Jules Verne, King Kong and "The Lost World" are referred to in scattering fashion throughout the first 50 or so pages. Zanthodon stands proudly along side these staples of lost worlds and heroic fantasy. Echoing Burroughs, there is a battle between the (carnivorous) triceratops and a wooly mammoth (pages 46-48) where the former is crushed to a pulp. This battle is illustrated by Josh Kirby in the frontispiece and is supported textually on page 47. The two beasts are a little to blurry for my taste but our heroes come off well. The background work is top notch and primitive. The Sea is reached on page 58 and I think I had assumed that "Babe" had landed near a "lagoon" of this body of water but in retrospect, it was probably a lake, though Carter refers to it (page 34) as either a "lagoon" or a "wide river." Soon after it turns into a swamp. In any event, a plesiosaurus rears out of the sea's depths (later revealed as the Sogar-Jad). Shades of Pellucidar! By page 61, Potter and Carstairs are captured by the Ape-Men of Kor from the island of Ganadol and Eric was woefully unprepared for their chieftain's attack. I know he'll do better as he gets to know the dangers of the Underground World of Zanthodon. It turns out the Neanderthals are known in Zanthodon as Drugars and their slave-raiding party that netted Professor Potter and Eric Carstairs is hurriedly heading back to their kingdom of Kor on the island of Ganadol which lies on the Sogar-Jad. Josh Kirby illustrates this slave coffle on page 67, the scene suitable barbaric. Others held captive include several Cro-Magnon men and woman. They are of the tribe or kingdom of Thandar and it is from the wrath of its king (omad), Tharn that the Drugars flee, for the woman is Tharn's daughter, Dayra. Included also from Thanadar are young Jorn the hunter and the conniving chieftain Fumio. If this whole scene reminds you of At the Earth's Core, it should, as Burroughs originated this scenario first in that first book of Pellucidar. Other similarities to ERB's Inner World are that it is Apemen (Drugars/Sagoths) who are the slavers, both lands both lie in eternal sunshine and time is recorded in "sleeps." Also, the term the Apemen use for the Cro-Magnons is "panjan," similar to what the Sagoths called modern men, "gilaks." In an un-Burroughs-like move, bodily functions are mentioned on page 69. The Thanadarians had actually advanced to the Bronze Age though they are often referred to as Cro-Magons, with thoughts of the Stone Age uppermost in the reader's mind. Potter suspects that they arrived in Zanthodon 50,000 years ago, fleeing an Ice Age. But no date of the Neanderthal's arrival is conjectured. Concerning my map, it was revealed on page 66 that the Sogar-Jad was to the left of the raiding party and I had assumed that they were traveling north along the western coast of Zanthodon though I suppose it could have been south on the eastern coast. Page 86 states that Thanadar is "down coast from Kor." Strangely enough, it is not for this reason that the map in "The Dictionary of Imaginary Places" differs from mine. Their map is just so seemingly wrong on most accounts but I'll talk more about that later. Just as the Drugars began to herd their captives into dugouts, enroute to Ganadol, Eric starts a slave revolt that frees the Thanadarians, but at the cost of his own freedom. It is in the aftermath of the great escape that Carstairs begins his unlikely friendship with the Drugar, Hurok, which becomes one of the rocks that the five book saga is based on. As Kirby shows on page 87, a yith (plesiosaurus) attacks the returning Drugars and after Hurok severs Eric's bound hands (to give him a fighting chance), the favor is returned when Carstairs saves the Apeman from certain death by drowning. They make their way to shore but which, Kor's or the mainland? Meanwhile, Professor Potter is mortified when Darya strips prior to bathing in a stream. His voice "rose a treble" as the princess (gomad) appears suddenly nude before his asonished eyes and ultimately "uttered a strangled croak" to accompany his retreat visually. Lin Carter handles this scene very well with his brand of humor. The sight of her perfect breasts jutting forth while doing the back float is too much for the secretly observing Fumio and he knocks the professor out and begins to assault the gomad of Thanadar... Zanthodon When last I left Zanthodon, at the end of Journey to the Underground World, Professor Potter had fainted by the shore of the Sogar-Jad. He had just witnessed the abduction of Darya by Kairadine Redbeard and apparent death of Jorn the Hunter. Eric Carstairs, Fumio, One-Eye, Xask and Tharn were off on other separate but related adventures. Near the end of Zanthodon, the second of five books in this latter day series by Carter, all parties (and then some) have been happily reunited and it seems a duology is all that is needed to relate the strange tale of Eric Carstairs. Ah, but we know better! During the 185 pages of action, the warriors of Thanadar and Sothar destroy the dwarfish Gorpaks and their Lords the Sluagghs, while both Jorn and Darya escape the pirate vessel the "Red Witch." A comment or two on both of the above. On page 38, when Potter is confronted by a stray Sluaggh, the five foot leech is described thusly: "But the most horrible and repellant features about the monstrous leech was not its size or its nature, but the uncanny gleam of cold, inhuman intelligence that burned in its eyes." Aside from the hypnotic effect of those eyes on its victims, the intelligence aspect is never fully explored. And aside from gaining mastery over the Gorpaks and voicing a high-pitched wail when being killed, I saw no actual intelligence displayed. Nor was the history of the Gormaks and their relatively high level of civilization explained and their docile slaves as well. As Kairadine brings the Princess Darya to his cabin aboard the "Red Witch," he prepares to rape her. While this act never occurs (thanks to Jorn), Carter does get rather vivid in describing the set-up on page 33: "As she panted for breath, her perfect breasts rose and fell, their delectable pink tips crisped from the coldness of the sea air on her damp skin. The corsair let his eyes travel caressingly down the sleek curve of her arm and shoulder, belly and flank and long, slim, tanned thigh." Burroughs would never write such semi-erotic stuff (different era, for one thing) and this Stone/Bronze Age Princess is continuously being abducted while bathing nude in some secluded pool. Pretty sexy stuff! The illustration on page 172 shows Darya's (nude) charms best, far better than Thomas Kidd's cover art. Kidd is credited with the Cover Art on the Copyright Page but on the Title Page, he is credited as "Ilustrated by." But clearly, the interior illustrator is different and far superior to Thomas Kidd. I just wish I knew who to credit. Perhaps best of the lot is the Frontispiece, showing Tharn as described on pages 14 & 15. Going a step further than contemplative rape, Carter describes the actual rape by a Gorpak on a pre-teen slave girl on page 79: "For suddenly tossing aside the whip, the bald mane tore off his loin-clout and got down on the floor atop the weeping little girl. The child made no protest against the assault. The Professor could hear her muffled sobs beneath the hog-like gruntings of the creature violating her." As disgusting as this scene is, more so was her father's reaction to it on page 81. At least this rape validates the total destruction of the Gorpaks and Sluagghs later on. While temporarily the captive of One-Eye, Eric is unbound but still doesn't simply run away from his much slower Drugar adversary (page 93). Seems sort of silly for Carter not to realize this. Another similarity between Zanthodon and Pellucidar is when Carter introduces a homing instinct (page 102): "The people of Zanthodon have, by and large, something akin to a homing sense: generally, they unerringly head in the direction they want to go..." Seemed almost an add on by Carter. A three page character glossary ends Zanthodon, complementing the animal glossary at the end of the first book. Just when things seem all sorted out, along comes Achmed the Moor to kidnap Dayra once more and the Minoan warriors of Zar capture Eric, the Professor and Xask. Everything has gone wrong but at least I know that "Hurok of the Stone Age" will be ready for me! Curiously, the Cro-Magnon's slang name for the Neanderthal's, Drugars meaning Ugly Ones, is always capitalized but when they return the favor and call the Cro-Magnons panjani, meaning smoothskins, it is not capitalized. See page 16 for examples of usages. The leaders of Sothar, Thanadar and Kor are usually referred to as High Chief or Omad, with lesser Chieftains serving beneath (One-Eye, Fumio and Komad for example). But sometimes the term King is used by Carstairs and kingdom for tribe. In Pellucidar, David Innes created kingdoms out of the federated tribes and kings of their chiefs. Perhaps Eric does the same on his ascension to Emperor of Zanthodon. I believe it is the information on page 18 that made me determine that the Sogar-Jad lay to the west of the Zanthodon mainland: "We were moving steadily west, toward the shores of the Sogar-Jad, with the jungle at our left and the plains to our right." On page 32, Darya is said to have no knowledge of the Barbary pirates of El-Cazar, as they have never raided this far south from their island stronghold to the north. Yet, (page 61), Jorn the Hunter knows enough to refer to the corsairs as "The-Men-Who-Ride-Upon-Water" and I believe Tharn did so as well, in the first book Hurok of the Stone Age Lin Carter continues to follow ERB's titling of his Zanthodon Series. Both used the land nick names in the first book, the real names in the second and both authors used supporting character names in books three and four. 1. "At the Earth's Core" and "Journey to the underground World" 2. "Pellucidar" and "Zanthodon" 3. "Tanar of Pellucidar" and "Hurok of the Stone Age" 4. "Tarzan at the Earth's Core" and "Darya of the Bronze Age" Speaking of whom, Darya is only mentioned a few times in passing during Hurok of the Stone Age and never appears. Our Princess will dominate the fourth book which matches the third in time-line. I hope the readers of this article don't mind my geographical comments but I'm double checking the accuracy of my own map of Zanthodon and so far it seems I'm right on, as far as the known areas of this inner world continent are concerned. For it seems that Zanthodon is just that, a single continent with some outlying islands. True, only the western and northern coasts have been explored in the five books but Eric Carstairs himself states (page 41) that "the Thandarians and Sotharians reached the point at which the shoreline curves back upon itself, and found the northernmost extremity of the continent." However, I also note that "Here a broad arm of the underground sea extended like a natural barrier, making further progress impossible. Along this arm of the Sogar-Jad were many small and rocky islands, a veritable archipelago, in fact." Two pages earlier, Carstairs comments that "the shoreline bulged outwards, curving back upon itself farther to the north." I have shown "the bulge" and these islands as well as El-Cazar but not the aforementioned "broad arm." It is probably a wide bay as opposed to a gulf but why the party could not continue, I can't explain. Sure the bay itself was an obstacle but why not travel via the shoreline? Another clue (page 16) that only western Zanthodon has been explored by Lin Carter is that "Zar, lay inland from the coast, far to the east." So really, we readers have no idea how vast Zanthodon actually is or how many tribes exist beyond those already mentioned: Thandar Sothar Gorpaks (exterminated) Gorad (appear in this book) Numitor (appear in this book) Gorthak (appear in fourth or fifth book) Fisher Folk (appear in fourth of fifth book) Aziru (appear in fourth of fifth book) Plus of course the Drugars of Kor on Ganadol, the Minoans of Zar on the Lugar-Jad and the Barbary Pirates of El-Cazar, among the Northern Isles. Conversely, Pellucidar is deeper within the Earth and much vaster. I'm sure Abner Perry and Professor Potter could give the relative number of square miles for each but Pellucidar has several continents (it seems, though a full map could reveal that all the seas are actually landlocked and part of the greater whole), thus rendering the Earth's Core having one huge land mass as well. We may never know the true extent of both inner earth worlds but maybe some day some intrepid soul(s) will push the boundaries of both? The Scarlet City of Zar is protected by a ring of mountains called the Wall of Zar and an inland sea known both as the Lugar-Jad and the Pnom-Jad (pages 46 - 48). Though described as the size of "one of the Great Lakes," there is a great island (upon which Zar is situated) that is "in the exact center of the inland sea." Yet, Carstairs could easily discern the city and its buildings from the shore and a stone causeway connects from there to the island. Despite Minoan engineering, it is doubtful they could build a bridge that traversed half of Lake Erie and the fact that Zar was easily viewed from shore shows the Pnom-Jad (Little Sea) to be simply a very large lake but certainly no "Great one. And since we're here, on the Pnom-Jad, I wonder why it is so named when the inhabitants on Zar speak ancient Minoan and would presumably have named this "inland sea" upon taking control of it, about three thousand years ago. And why have the Minoans retained their language in whole? The Pirates of El Cazar, a far more recent addition to Zanthodon, has already adopted the almost universal language of the Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals (Drugars). And why would Zar fear a barbarian invasion? They have the Walls of Zar with only one pass readily available to an attacking horde, the Gates of Zar, carved in the likeness of its living god, the Zorgazon or T-Rex. Josh Kirby amply illustrates this on the cover, as Carstairs and Potter are brought into captivity to Zar. The narrow pass beyond the Gates of Zar shows itself to be easily defended against a numerically superior host. Then there is the Pnom-Jad itslef, crossable only by boat or narrow causeway. Thus far, only the far away Drugars of Kor seemed to have built primitive boats and the Pirates of El-Cazar, with far superior ships. Yet, how could either build a fleet on the shores of the inland sea, prior to assaulting Zar itself? As to the causeway, it could be easily defended or destroyed if need be. Assuming that invaders could get this far, they'd still have to invade the city proper and intense hand to hand fighting would result with the Minoans reluctant to give up their lives, families and homes. Yet, there is a fleet of merchant and war ships abroad on the Pnom-Jad. With whom do they trade as no mention of coastal settlements is made and with whom would they fight? Who would dare or be capable of attacking the Scarlet City of Zar? My last piece of geographical data pertains to the so-called "mountain lake" that Jorn falls into (pages 111 & 112) during a landslide in the Wall of Zar. It lies at the base of a mountain on the edge of the Northern Plains so technically it is a "lake close to a mountain." Carstairs constantly refers to the people of Sothar and Thanador as Cro-Magnons but are they really? They migrated to Zanthodon perhaps ten thousand years ago (Potter could tell you), as Cro-Magnons but might they not have evolved into true Homo Sapiens as evidenced by the ascent of these two tribes (at least) through the Copper Age into that of the Bronze? Speaking of which, though daggers, spears and bow and arrows have been invented, why not swords? If bronze or copper are readily available would not a sword be the logical next step, up from the smaller dagger? I just noticed on page 89 that Carter (for once at least), refers to the Sotharian and Thanadorians as "a hardy race, these direct descendants of our own Cro-Magnon ancestors." On page 48, Captain Raphad reveals that Zar is in decline, population-wise as "the number of our births is far less than the number of deaths." Why this is, I don't know but does this mean that given sufficient time, Zar will fade into oblivion, invasion or not? Perhaps inbreeding is a probable and if so, why not utilize their robust Cro-Magnon slaves to add fresh blood and genes to that of the decadent Minoans? Though the primitive nations of Sothar and Thanadar are far below the level of civilization represented by Zar, both are in the Bronze Age (page 82). No iron in Zanthodon? I'll wait to see if the Barbary Pirates have iron. The late and unlamented Gorpaks were of the Bronze Age also. A pity their past was not fully examined by Carter as they were somewhere between Zar and the two barbarian nations of Thanadar and Sothar, as far as level of civilization was concerned. It is not clear (at this time) whether or not the tribes of Gorad, Numitor or Gothak have advanced out of the Stone Age. It is curious that the tribes of Sothar and Thanadar never interacted with those of Numitor or Gorad. The latter two are located "far to the south" of Zar (page 173) apparently still north of the Peaks of Peril. Despite this natural barrier, I would think that with the thousands of years spent in Zanthodon by these tribes it would result in some sort of discovery of each other. On page 185, Garth of Sothar recognizes the warriors fleeing Zar as those of Numitor and Gorad. Of note to fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Lin Carter utilizes the concept of primitive or alien worlds being unaware of the art of pugilism (page 67) and Carstairs narrowly escapes "A Fate Worse Than Death" at the hands of Empress Zarys (page 171). Speaking of whom, not only does she look almost exactly like Darya, their names are darn close as well. But the Empress is a bit older and far more sensuous, as evidenced by her sexual fondling of Eric's pistol (page 109) and the general parading of her painted nipples and nude nether regions. Total flaunting! I was under the impression that only a handful of the tribe of Sothar were enslaved by the Gorpaks, with the balance destroyed by the earthquake which drove them from their ancestral home. How else but with small numbers could the warlike Sotharians be captured by the relatively weak (militarily) Gorpaks? Yet, they are said to be numbered in the hundreds when they eventually split from the Thanadarians and when Captain Raphad spots them while on patrol (pages 89 & 106). Carter does go where Burroughs did not, in terms of explicit sexual scenes or possibility. The chance of "a bit of gang rape" on Ialys (slave girl of the Empress), is pondered by Carstairs on page 174. That and the pistol barrel fondling by Zarys is pretty explicit for this sort of tale. I've already mentioned Josh Kirby's great cover art but his interiors deserve attention as well. The Frontispiece represents an exaggeration of the scene on page 35. A thirty foot snake does not tower over its victims like this xunth does. Still it is effective. On page 64 Kirby thankfully shows Yualla as he wants and not as Carter describes. Here we see curves upon curves upon curves as opposed to the slender cave girl of carter. The thakdol is nicely drawn but the vandar on page 123 is even more so. And here we see yet more of Yualla's delightful charms. The journey through the sewers of Zar is rather poorly illustrated on page 158, as this illustration is "too busy." Here, Empress Zarys is referred to as the "Witch Queen of Zar." Is she a witch? I've seen no indication though she might be considered a goddess by her subjects. Is she a Queen or Empress? Since she rules only the lands and seas within the Walls of Zar and the nearby approaching Northern Plains, it seems that Queen is more appropriate, since there are no conquered tribes to rule over, on to raid for fresh slaves. But perhaps the title is ancestral, from ancient Crete when they did rule an empire in the eastern Mediterranean? The last interior is of Zorgazon (T. Rex) on page 179 and is a dramatic one at that, with a human dangling in its great jaws. But do we ever sea another such beast, even an allosaurus, in Zanthodon? Plot-wise, Hurok of the Stone Age is made up of the stories of Garth searching for his daughter Yualla, Tharn like-wise searching for Darya (they both were carried off by thakdols), and Hurok searching for Carstairs and Potter. By books end, we know that Darya is aboard a Barbary Pirate ship headed for El Cazar while the host of Sothar and a smattering of tribesmen from Numitor and Gorad is heading towards the northwest coast of Zanthodon to unite with those of Thanadar. Yualla is rescued as well as Eric and the Professor, though Garth is sorely wounded. If there is one impression I am left with by this incredible Lin Carter novel, it is the words of Eric Carstairs describing what Hurok had accomplished during his adventures (page 192). "Sometimes, in dire adversity, men break. Other men, however, pass through the fire and emerge strong, tempered, like steel passing through a smith's forge. And thus had been the fate of my old friend and comrade-in-peril, Hurok of the Stone Age." Well written, Lin! Next up, "Darya of the Bronze Age" and Zanthodon's version of Korsar! Darya of the Stone Age Darya of the Bronze AgeDarya of the Bronze Age is the fourth of five books in Lin Carter's Zanthodon Series. Timeline-wise it runs concurrently with events previously described in Hurok of the Stone Age. For the most part, this book reveals the fate of Darya after she was kidnapped (for the second time), by Kairadine, Prince (though there is no king to be the son of) of El-Cazar. It is not Eric Carstairs who rescues her. It is her father Garth, King of the Sotharians. He and his Cro-magnon horde invade and temporarily conquer the Barbary Pirate's island stronghold, out in the Northern Seas. Making their way back to the mainland they eventually rejoin the tribe of Thandar, just after they (Tharn and company) have defeated both the avenging pirates and Minoan Cretans of the Scarlet City of Zaar. Sadly, the battle was won far too easily in a contrived manner. Lin could have done better with this and added a touch of realism in the process. By book's (and battle's) end, the buccaneers and Minoans are returning to El-Cazar and Zaar, defeated and disarmed, while Kairadine has mistakenly kidnapped Zarys, Empress of the Minoans. Eric and Darya are once again reunited and their union has been blessed by Tharn. So now what? Most loose ends (but for Kairadine and Zarys) have been resolved or so it seems. After all, the reader is informed of the fifth book, Eric of Zanthodon. No mention of it being the last book in the series is made. Josh Kirby is only credited with the cover art but he did the five interiors as well. A voluptuous Darya adorns the cover and is just busting out with curves, thankfully so, unlike how Lin describes her.Josh does well with the interiors but they are not as good as the cover. I suspect his "busy" style does not transfer all that well in some instances. In fact, I will soon conduct an Internet search and see if he has a collection available, one that will portray his gifted talents to best advantage. An interesting comment is made by Carstairs on page 33. "... beyond the shore lay further islands, large and small, drowned in veils of floating mist, beyond which stretch, presumably, the unbroken sea to the very walls of the cavern-world." What a visual. Imagine actually reaching the edge of Zanthodon and coming upon the encompassing wall? This makes me wonder at what the "roof" of the Underground World looks like from the ground. Carter has addressed this but only briefly, such as when Eric and the Professor first crash landed through the volcano shaft. But how high up is the "ceiling" and what is its appearance. For some reason I visualize ERB's inner Lunar world (Vega?), with many openings to the surface. And again, I am prompted to think of Pellucidar and how there is no ceiling, only the far side of the Earth's Core. Though not visible to its inhabitants, the concept just floors me! Funny how the ocean surrounding Zanthodon is known as Sogar-Jad and the inner sea as Pnom or Lugar Jad, but the portion of the Sogar-Jad by El-Cazar and the Northern Isles is simply called the Northern Sea (page 35). This is one type of lack of consistency I noticed in this book and I'm a bit disapponted in this because Lin has written on how such tales should be crafted and the pitfalls to avoid. Never mind that he didn't provide a map, breaking rule #1. Another example is on whether or not Fumio of Thandar is a coward. Usually it is said that he is, but occasionally we are informed otherwise, like on page 110. And is Achmed a Moor (as he usually is) or a Turk as on page 37. I guess there are more than Arabs (of the Algerian variety, mainly) and Moors as Kemal the Turk and Haroot the Persian make brief appearances on page 36. There is some un-Burroughs-like sexuality in this book, particularly when Zoraida fondles Darya's breasts as she hangs helpless. Plus the girls seem to like raking their nails across the breasts of each other while earlier engaged in a cat fight. The threat of gang rape (page 71) is very real but thankfully never happens. Talk of Kairadine "mounting" Darya (page 52) is a bit risque as well. A different cup of tea, is Zanthodon to Pellucidar! The story still reads well and I do look forward to events in the concluding novel, but honestly, my appreciation of Burroughs rises after this reading. Eric of Zanthodon One train of thought (or word, actually) that stayed with me throughout my latest re-read of Lin Carter's Eric of Zanthodon was "anti-climatic." I remember thinking that "Darya of the Bronze Age" would have made an appropriate conclusion to the Underground World saga, save for a few loose ends. Well, those loose ends are resolved in this book but I feel 176 pages was about 100 too many for this purpose. Does that mean I thought this novel a poor one? No, just the weakest in an extremely fine series. Published by DAW Books (No. 362) in May of 1982, it represents the culmination of Carter's homage to Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar series. Begun in November of 1979, the five volumes of Zanthodon were published over a two and a half year period, as compared to the forty-nine for ERB's Inner World novels. Whereas Carter plotted his series in advance and in detail, before actually beginning to write, Burroughs went wherever his fertile imagination took him, after the opening duology. I can imagine how exciting it must have been for Barsoom and Pellucidar fans to wonder when the next beloved book in their series would appear next, as both of them had a fifty year publishing span with no discernable pattern. With Carter, one need not worry as he had a "plan" for Zanthodon as well as The Green Star and World's End series. Five books (discounting Giant of World's End) and out! Other series like Callisto, Thongor and the Great Imperium had "other plans," to be discussed at another time. But, back to Eric of Zanthodon. Once again, featuring a Josh Kirby cover and half a dozen interiors. The cover depicts the scene from the last page, showing a barbaric Eric, shy son Gar and an absolutely curvacious (erroneously so) Darya. The erupting volcano in the background was borrowed from an earlier scene near the old village of Sothar. Carstairs confirms beyond all doubt that my map of the Underground World is basically correct, by stating in a footnote on page 29 that the Sogar-Jad lay to the west of Thandar. Another addition to Zanthodon is the remnant of the Aziru tribe from the African savannah. Only Niema and Zuma have survived and they join Eric's tribe, along with Baron Manfred Von Kohler, Private Borg and Corporal Schmidt, survivors of a company of World War II Germans, retreating from the Allied advance in the North African theatre. I had hoped that Carter would dwell a bit on the ages of these warriors versus their younger appearance, somewhat like Burroughs did with Ah-gilak in Savage Pellucidar. Both inner worlds are essentially timeless, to a degree as the inhabitants have not developed a way to measure time and wouldn't if they could. Abner Perry did try though.... Another similarity between the two series is the homing instinct possessed by the long-time inhabitants. The Barbary Pirates and Minoans of Zanthodon don't possess it and I don't recall if the Korsars of Pellucidar do. I had mentioned the tying up of loose ends by Carter but actually, two are not. The fate of Kairadine Redbeard and Zarys of Zar is unknown as is the future of their respective strongholds. Also, Murg is left to flee from the justice of the Thandarian/Sotharian host, after knifing Xask in the back. It was ever "Murg's way." Speaking through Von Kohler, Lin Carter expresses his personal views on how his Utopia would appear. "Would it not, Herr Carstairs, be a worthy cause to devote our lives to, if we could spare the Cro-Magnon nation the mistakes that have marred the history of our own Western civilization? Extreme nationalism, imperialism, the exploitation of less advanced peoples, the creation of poverty and slums, military aggression ... and, instead of these, teach them the ways of justice, equality, fairness, decency, toleration, brotherhood, cooperation, and -- freedom!" By book's end, Eric Carstairs is proclaimed Omad of his tribe of Zanthodon and future Omad of those of Thandar and Sothar, upon the deaths of Tharn and Garth. In other words, the Omad-of-Omads or Emperor of Zanthodon. It's too bad that Carter never continued this series by concentrating on the unexplored eastern and extreme southern regions of the continent of Zanthodon as well as overseas on the Sogar-Jad, beyond Gantatol, El Cazar and the Northern Isles. But alas, unless some intrepid writer of fan fiction undertakes this task, the future adventures of Eric Carstairs will remain unwritten and unknown to us, readers of this sort of tale. ~ Steve ServelloZanthodon Map Sketch by Steve Servello ured. #''Journey to the Underground World'' (DAW Books, 1979)Journey to the Underground World : The Adventures of Eric Carstairs in Zanthodon #''Zanthodon'' (DAW Books, 1980) #''Hurok of the Stone Age'' (DAW Books, 1981) #''Darya of the Bronze Age'' (DAW Books, 1981) #''Eric of Zanthodon'' (DAW Books, 1982) This is the final book in the Zanthodon series and I have read them all. There lost world stroies are always interesting. Other novels *''Destination Saturn'' (1967) (with Donald Wollheim writing as David Grinnell )*''The Flame of Iridar'' (1967) *''Time War'' (1974) *''Tower at the Edge of Time'' (1968) *''Tower of the Medusa'' (1969) Fantasy Thongor of Valkarth #''The Wizard of Lemuria'' (1965; revised/expanded as Thongor and The Wizard of Lemuria (1969)). In his introduction to the revised edition, "A Word from the Author", Carter reveals that the revisions consist of restoring certain passages cut by the editor from the first edition, conforming certain portions of the book to details described in later books of the series, and adding a few thousand words of new material.#''Thongor of Lemuria'' (1966; revised/expanded as Thongor and the Dragon City (1970))#''Thongor Against the Gods'' (1967)#''Thongor in the City of Magicians'' (1968)#''Thongor at the End of Time'' (1968)#''Thongor Fights the Pirates of Tarakus'' (1970)# Young Thongor, by Lin Carter, Robert M. Price, and Adrian Cole (Wildside Press, 2012) (ISBN 978-1-4344-4101-0)Note: Carter's literary executor Robert M. Price has written two Thongor stories, "Witch of Lemuria" http://www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/fic_witchq.htm and "Mind Lords of Lemuria"http://www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/fic_mindlords.htm. In 1978 a Thongor movie was in production for release in 1979. It was titled Thongor in the Valley of Demons; however the movie was never produced. Conan *''Conan'' (1967) (with Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp) *''Conan of the Isles'' (1968) (with L. Sprague de Camp) *''Conan the Wanderer'' (1968) (with Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp) Conan the Adventurer (Howard & de Camp) + Conan the Buccaneer (Carter & de Camp);= The Conan Chronicles 2 (1990) *''Conan of Cimmeria'' (1969) (with Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp) Conan the Freebooter (Howard & de Camp);= The Conan Chronicles (1989) *''Conan the Buccaneer'' (1971) (with L. Sprague de Camp) *''Conan of Aquilonia'' (1977) (with L. Sprague de Camp) *''Conan the Swordsman'' (1978) (with L. Sprague de Camp and Björn Nyberg) *''Conan the Liberator'' (1979) (with L. Sprague de Camp) *''Conan the Barbarian'' (1982) (with L. Sprague de Camp) *''Sagas of Conan'' (2004) (with L. Sprague de Camp and Björn Nyberg) The Chronicles of Kylix *''The Quest of Kadji'' (1971) *''Amalric'' (unpublished in complete form) **"The Higher Heresies of Oolimar" (1973) **"The Curious Custom of the Turjan Seraad" (1976) *''The Wizard of Zao'' (1978) *''Kellory the Warlock'' (1984) Gondwane *''The Warrior of World's End'' (1974) *''The Enchantress of World's End'' (1975) *''The Immortal of World's End'' (1976) *''The Barbarian of World's End'' (1977) *''The Pirate of World's End'' (1978) *''Giant of World's End'' (1969) Terra Magica #''Kesrick'' (1982)#''Dragonrouge'' (1984)#''Mandricardo'' (1987)#''Callipygia'' (1988) Tara of the Twilight *''Tara of the Twilight'' (1979) *"For the Blood is the Life" (1984)*"The Love of the Sea" (1984)*"Pale Shadow" (1985) Oz Published posthumously by Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends *''The Tired Tailor of Oz'' (2001) *''The Merry Mountaineer of Oz'' (collection of four complete Oz novels: The Awful Ogre of Ogodown, High Times on Tip Top Mountain, The Wooden Soldier of Oz, No Joy in Mudville) (2004) Other novels *''The Black Star'' (1973)*''Found Wanting'' (1985)*''Lost World of Time'' (1969)*''The Star Magicians'' (1966) Collections *''King Kull'' (1967) (Robert E. Howard)*''Beyond the Gates of Dream'' (Nordon Publications/Leisure Books, 1969)ISBN 0-8439-1082-8*''Lost Worlds'' (DAW Books, 1980)*''The Xothic Legend Cycle: The Complete Mythos Fiction of Lin Carter'' (Chaosium, 1997)*''Lin Carter's Anton Zarnak, Supernatural Sleuth''. Edited by and with intro "The Many Incarnations of Anton Zarnak" by Robert M. Price. (Marietta Publishing, 2000). Collects Carter's three stories of this occult detective character together with stories of Zarnak by other authors including Price, Joseph S. Pulver, Pierre Comtois, C.J. Henderson, John L. French and James Chambers. Poetry *''Sandalwood and Jade: Poems of the Exotic and the Strange'' (St Petersburg, FL:Sign of the Centaur Press, 1951; 100 copies). *''Galleon of Dream: Poems of Fantasy and Wonder'' (NY: Sign of the Centaur Press, 1955; 200 copies) *''A Letter to Judith'' (New York, 1959; 500 copies). *''Dreams from R'lyeh'' (Arkham, 1975). Note: The Sonnet sequence "Dreams from R'lyeh" from this volume has been reprinted in The Xothic Legend Cycle: The Complete Mythos Fiction of Lin Carter*"Shadow Song" in Kotan September 1948, Vol. 1, No. 1. Edited by Gordon Mack, Jr. Hobby Games *''Royal Armies of the Hyborian Age: A Wargamers' Guide to the Age of Conan'' (with Scott Bizar). Fantasy Games Unlimited, 1975. Illustrated by Roy Krenkel. *''Flash Gordon & the Warriors of Mongo'' (with Scott Bizar). Fantasy Games Unlimited, 1977. Illustrated by Alex Raymond. Non-fiction *''Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings"'' (1969) (Ballantine)*''Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos'' (1972) (Ballantine) *''Imaginary Worlds: the Art of Fantasy'' (1973) (Ballantine Adult Fantasy) *''Middle-earth: The World of Tolkien Illustrated'' (text by Carter, paintings by David Wenzel, 1977) Anthologies edited Ballantine Adult Fantasy series "Ballantine Adult Fantasy" was inaugurated in April 1969, in words on the front cover of The Mezentian Gate by E. R. Eddison, and in May, with the logo on The Blue Star by Fletcher Pratt, cataloged as #1. Some later volumes also carried the unicorn's head Adult Fantasy logo without numerical assignment to the series. *''Dragons, Elves, and Heroes'' (1969) *''The Young Magicians'' (1969) *''Golden Cities, Far'' (1970) *''New Worlds for Old'' (1971) *''The Spawn of Cthulhu'' (1971) French ed. as Les Adorateurs de Cthulhu, Champs-Élysées (Masque fantastique 12), 1979. *''Double Phoenix'' (1971) *''Discoveries in Fantasy'' (1972) *''Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy I'' (1972) *''Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy Volume II'' (1972) Flashing Swords! *''Flashing Swords! #1'' (1973) *''Flashing Swords! #2'' (1973) *''Flashing Swords! #3: Warriors and Wizards'' (1976)*''Flashing Swords! #4: Barbarians and Black Magicians'' (1977) *''Flashing Swords! #5: Demons and Daggers'' (1977). Dell Books, 191 ISBN 0-440-12590-1 Weird Tales *''Weird Tales #1'' (Zebra Books, 1981) *''Weird Tales #2'' (Zebra Books, 1981) *''Weird Tales #3'' (Zebra Books, 1981) *''Weird Tales #4'' (Zebra Books, 1983) The Year's Best Fantasy Stories *''The Year's Best Fantasy Stories'' (DAW Books, 1975) *''The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 2'' (DAW Books, 1976) *''The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 3'' (DAW Books, 1977) *''The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 4'' (DAW Books, 1978) *''The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 5'' (DAW Books1980) *''The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 6'' (DAW Books, 1980) Other anthologies *''The Magic of Atlantis'' (1970) *''Kingdoms of Sorcery'' (1976) *''Realms of Wizardry'' (1976) Awards Nova Award, 1972. See also * Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series * Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America * Trap Door Spiders* Black Widowers * Lin Carter deities* Gandalf Award Notes References . (ISFDB). Retrieved 2013-04-06. Select a title to see its linked publication history and general information. Select a particular edition (title) for more data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pubseries.cgi?26 "Publication Series Ballantine Adult Fantasy – Bibliography"]. ISFDB. Retrieved 2013-04-06. "Carter, Lin". The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index to Literary Nominees. Locus Publications. Retrieved 2013-04-06.}};Citations * * * Crypt of Cthulhu magazine. No less than five issues of this Lovecraftian fanzine edited by Robert M. Price, all published in Upper Montclair, N.J., were devoted to Lin Carter as special issues: **No. 36 (v. 5, no. 2), Yuletide 1985**No. 54 (v. 7, no. 4), Eastertide 1988 [Lin Carter memorial issue, titled The Fishers from Outside; Carter died on Feb. 7, 1988, just as this issue had been typeset and laid out. The back cover carries an unsigned obituary]**No. 69 (v. 9, no. 2), Yuletide 1989**No. 70 (v. 9, no. 3), Candlemas 1990 [titled The Necronomicon: Book One: The Episodes]**No 95 (v.16, no 2) Eastertide 1997. Contains "Cthulhu and Co" (essay on Lovecraft) and "The Light in the East" (essay on the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn) both by Carter. External links * * In Memoriam Lin Carter 1930-1988, a tribute site by Ken St. Andre* Barbarians of Lemuria, a free role-playing game set in the world of Carter's Thongor series. * http://tirpetz1.fortunecity.com/authorpages/carter/carter.html tribute site displaying many Lin Carter book covers* "Why Lin Carter's Name keeps Coming Up" by David Bruce Bozarth, http://www.erblist.com/erbmania/tangor/lincarter.html * "My Life with Lin Carter" by Noel Vreeland Carter, http://www.beyond49.ca/Carter/noelcarter_trib.html * Information on Thongor of Lemuria as a character in Marvel Comics adaptations http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/thongorlemuria.htm * "An Unnatural History of Thongor's Lemuria" by Den Valdron http://www.erbzine.com/mag28/2856.html * Stephen J. Servello, "Lin Carter and Clark Ashton Smith" http://www.beyond49.ca/Carter/Lin_Carter_and_Clark_Ashton_Smith.htm Category:1930 births Category:1988 deaths Category:American fantasy writers Category:American science fiction writers Category:American book editors Category:Science fiction editors Category:Science fiction fans Category:20th-century American novelists Category:American short story writers Category:Cthulhu Mythos writers